Library Haul
Booked & Borrowed
There’s nothing better than walking out of the library with a full tote bag of stories and that familiar thrill of possibility. Whether you’re in the mood for cozy fall reads, book-to-film adaptations, or a few titles that have taken over BookTok, your next library haul can be a mix of comfort, discovery, and surprise. Library hauls are like treasure hunts—you never know what you’ll discover next. Every visit holds a new favorite author, an unexpected plot twist, or that perfect book to pair with your weekend coffee. So grab your tote, make a coffee stop, and head to your local library.
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
Jet Mason has always believed she had time. At twenty-seven, she’s living back home in Woodstock, Vermont, surrounded by wealth, privilege, and expectations as the daughter of one of the town’s most powerful families. Her life hasn’t quite started yet — or at least that’s what she tells herself. There’s always tomorrow. Always later. Until Halloween night. A brutal attack leaves Jet with a devastating head injury. The doctors are clear: within seven days, a fatal aneurysm will end her life. There is a dangerous surgery that might save her, but it comes with no guarantees — and could take away the little time she has left. Jet makes a choice that shocks her family: she refuses the operation. If she’s going to die, she wants to spend her final days on her own terms. And she wants answers. Jet never considered herself someone worth hating. But as she looks at her life through the lens of impending death, she begins to question everything — her family’s secrets, her former best friend who is now her sister-in-law, her ex-boyfriend, and the carefully curated world she once trusted. Suddenly, everyone feels like a suspect. With only one ally by her side — her loyal childhood friend Billy — Jet sets out to accomplish the one thing she’s never finished before: She’s going to solve her own murder. As time runs out and her condition worsens, Jet must confront not only who attacked her, but who she truly is — and what her life meant in the end.
Honey & Spice by Bolu Babalola
Kiki Banjo has built her reputation on staying unbothered. As the bold, quick-witted host of Whitewell University’s hit radio show Brown Sugar, she warns the women of the African-Caribbean Society to steer clear of “situationships” and campus heartbreak — especially guys like Malakai Korede, whom she publicly labels one of the “Wastemen of Whitewell.”
So when she accidentally kisses him in front of everyone, her carefully curated image begins to crumble.
To save face (and their futures), Kiki and Malakai agree to fake a relationship. But what starts as damage control quickly becomes complicated. Beneath Malakai’s smooth charm is someone far more genuine than Kiki expected. Late-night conversations and unexpected chemistry begin to blur the line between pretending and something real.
Now Kiki must decide: can the girl who avoids love at all costs risk her heart for something that feels this sweet — and this spicy?
Society of Lies by Lauren Ling Brown
Maya returns to Princeton expecting a weekend filled with nostalgia — a ten-year reunion, old friendships, and the proud celebration of her younger sister Naomi’s graduation. Instead, she’s met with devastation. Naomi is dead. The police rule it an accident, but Maya knows her sister. Something isn’t right. As she retraces Naomi’s final months on campus, Maya uncovers secrets her sister never shared. Despite Maya’s quiet warnings about the pressure and politics of elite campus life, Naomi joined Sterling Club — Princeton’s most powerful and exclusive social circle — the same one Maya once belonged to. And if history is repeating itself, Naomi may have been chosen for the secret society hidden within it. The deeper Maya digs, the more she’s forced to confront a truth she’s avoided for years: her own time at Princeton wasn’t as perfect as she claimed. There were whispers. There were rumors. And Naomi isn’t the first young woman connected to the club to die under mysterious circumstances. Now, as past and present collide, Maya must uncover what really happened — even if it means exposing the secret she’s spent a decade trying to bury.Because sometimes, the cost of belonging is far greater than anyone realizes.
The Princess Knight by Cait Jacobs
Clía has spent her life being told she and Prince Domhnall are destined for each other. As heirs to neighboring kingdoms, their marriage would secure peace, strengthen alliances, and please the gods themselves. There’s just one problem—Domhnall refuses to propose. Unwilling to let their future unravel, Clía takes matters into her own hands and follows him to Caisleán Cósta, the kingdom’s most elite and unforgiving military academy. The castle is known for brutal training, ruthless duels, and shaping warriors—not princesses. But Clía is determined to prove she is more than a political pawn. Ronan, a battle-hardened warrior who clawed his way into the academy through sacrifice and sheer will, has no patience for royal distractions—especially not a bright, stubborn princess who steps into the arena like she belongs there. Yet beneath Clía’s charm and unexpected courage, Ronan recognizes something familiar: ambition, pride, and the desperate need to earn respect. What begins as reluctant training turns into undeniable tension. But their growing connection is complicated—Domhnall is Ronan’s best friend, and a real war looms closer with every passing day.
As kingdoms edge toward conflict, Clía and Ronan must decide what they are willing to fight for—duty, loyalty, or the kind of love that could change everything.
Katabasis by R. F. Kuang
Alice Law has built her entire life around one obsession: becoming a legendary magician. She’s given up sleep, relationships, and any sense of balance just to study under Professor Jacob Grimes at Cambridge—the most brilliant mind in modern Magick. Then he dies in a magical accident. An accident that might be her fault.
With her future hanging in the balance, Alice refuses to let death stand in her way. If Grimes is in Hell, then that’s exactly where she’s going. Armed with hastily drawn pentagrams, classical myths of Orpheus and Dante as loose roadmaps, and pure academic desperation, she sets out to bring him back—or at least secure the endorsement that could define her career. Unfortunately, she’s not the only one with that idea. Her longtime rival, Peter Murdoch, is just as determined, forcing the two into an uneasy alliance. As they journey through a Hell far stranger and more dangerous than any textbook described, Alice begins to realize that Magick can’t fix everything—and that the real battle may not be against demons, but against the past she shares with Peter. In a realm where ambition burns hotter than brimstone, they’ll have to decide what matters more: success, redemption, or each other.
The Courting of Bristol Keats by Mary E. Pearson
After the death of their parents, Bristol Keats and her sisters are barely holding things together in their quiet hometown of Bowskeep. Money is tight, grief lingers, and the future feels uncertain. So when Bristol begins receiving mysterious letters from an aunt she’s never heard of—someone claiming to know the truth about their family—she doesn’t know whether to ignore them or hope they’re real. Curiosity wins. What Bristol uncovers shatters everything she thought she knew. Her family’s past wasn’t ordinary. Her father may not have died at all—instead, he could have been taken to a hidden realm of magic, a world of gods, fae, and monsters tied to his true origins. Determined to save him, Bristol crosses into that dangerous realm and quickly finds herself entangled in its politics and power struggles. In her desperation, she makes a risky bargain with Tyghan, a powerful and enigmatic fae leader. But Tyghan has secrets of his own—ones that connect directly to Bristol’s parents and the life they spent running from forces far darker than she imagined. Now, as truths unravel and loyalties blur, Bristol must decide who she can trust in a world where magic is deadly and nothing is as it seems.